Hurricane Erin has battered North Carolina’s Outer Banks with strong winds and waves that flooded part of the main highway and surged under beachfront homes.

The unusually large hurricane slowly began to move away from the East Coast on Thursday. Erin is not forecast to make landfall.

Forecasters say it will slowly weaken over the next few days while turning farther out to sea. The menacing waves have closed beaches from the Carolinas to New York City on Thursday.

Along the North Carolina shoreline, the storm breached sand dunes on Hatteras Island and damaged one waterfront motel.

Parts of the main route linking the Outer Banks remain closed.